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Photos:Africa Cup of Nations 2015

Ivory Coast hero Boubacar Barry is lifted on the shoulders of Wilfried Bony after his team's victory in the Africa Cup of Nations final over Ghana. Barry scored the winning penalty in the 9-8 shootout win.

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Photos:Africa Cup of Nations 2015

The triumphant Ivory Coast team ended a long wait to get their hands on African football's most prestigious trophy.

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Ghana advanced to the Africa Cup of Nations final after beating Equatorial Guinea 3-0. The game, however, had to be stopped at one point due to crowd trouble that led to a police helicopter intervening.

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Both sets of players had to wait on the pitch as a decision was made whether to abandon the game or resume the action.

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Ghana players had earlier been the target of missiles as they left the pitch at half-time with police needed to step in.

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Play eventually resumed and Ghana will now meet Ivory Coast in Sunday's final -- a repeat of the 1992 final which the Elephants won.

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Africa Cup of Nations 2015 – Wilfried Kanon celebrates after scoring the third goal versus Democratic Republic of Congo for Ivory Coast, who won 3-1 to seal a place in Sunday's final against either Ghana or tournament hosts Equatorial Guinea.

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Africa Cup of Nations 2015 – Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure scored a stunning opener to put Ivory Coast ahead, rifling home an unstoppable shot from the edge of the area.

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Africa Cup of Nations 2015 – AS Roma midfielder Gervinho restored Ivory Coast's lead with a precise finish after DR Congo striker Dieumerci Mbokani had brought his side level from the penalty spot.

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Africa Cup of Nations 2015 – Ghana fans were left to celebrate after seeing their side thrash Guinea 3-0 in the Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinals.

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Africa Cup of Nations 2015 – Wilfried Bony (far right) is congratulated by his Ivory Coast teammates after scoring during the 3-1 win over Algeria in the AFCON quarterfinals.

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Africa Cup of Nations 2015 – The referee took center stage in a bad-tempered AFCON quarterfinal between Tunisia and Equatorial Guinea - won 2-1 by the hosts.

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Africa Cup of Nations 2015 – Dieudonne Mbokani celebrates after scoring a goal during the Democratic Republic of Congo's 4-2 win over Congo in the AFCON quarterfinals.

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Africa Cup of Nations 2015 – Victory for Ivory Coast keeps alive the hopes of fans who believe this team is capable of winning a major trophy, despite recent failures.

Africa Cup of Nations 2015 – Guinea midfielder Kevin Constant, right, put his side ahead against Mali from the penalty spot -- but both teams went into a drawing of lots after neither could find a winner.

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Africa Cup of Nations 2015 – Algeria players celebrate after Riyad Mahrez opened the scoring in their country's Group C AFCON fixture against Senegal.

Africa Cup of Nations 2015 – Ghana's Andre Ayew celebrates after scoring the second goal in his country's 2-1 come-from-behind Group C victory over South Africa at AFCON 2015.

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Africa Cup of Nations 2015 – Mandla Masango (center) celebrates with teammates after firing South Africa into the lead of the AFCON Group C fixture with Ghana.

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Africa Cup of Nations 2015 – Equatorial Guinea fans celebrated wildly after their team reached the knockout stages of the Africa Cup of Nations on home soil.

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Africa Cup of Nations 2015 – Equatorial Guinea's midfielder Javier Balboa celebrates after scoring his side's crucial opener in the 2-0 win over Gabon to take his side through to the quarterfinals of the Africa Cup of Nations.

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Africa Cup of Nations 2015 – Congo coach Claude Le Roy extended his remarkable record at AFCON finals as his side became the seventh from eight to reach the knockout stages. A 2-1 win over Burkina Faso did the trick for the Frenchman.

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Africa Cup of Nations 2015 – Ivory Coast scored a later equalizer against Mali in the Africa Cup of Nations to secure a vital second draw in their tight Group D, which will decided in the final round of matches.

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Africa Cup of Nations 2015 – Asamoah Gyan celebrates his last-minute winner for Ghana as it managed to defeat tournament favorite Algeria 1-0 in Group C.

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Africa Cup of Nations 2015 – Senegal moved top of Group C after coming from behind to secure a 1-1 draw against South Africa.

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Africa Cup of Nations 2015 – Tunisia edge closer to a place in the Africa Cup of Nations quarter finals as they come back to defeat Zambia 2-1 in Group B.

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Africa Cup of Nations 2015 – A Burkina Faso fan watches on as his side fought to a goalless draw in an Africa Cup of Nations Group A match against hosts Equatorial Guinea.

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Africa Cup of Nations 2015 – The Group A match between host Equatorial Guinea and Burkina Faso, runners-up in the last AFCON, ended in a goalless draw

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Africa Cup of Nations 2015 – A Congo fan trumpets his support for his team as it beats Gabon 1-0 in a Group A qualifier.

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Africa Cup of Nations 2015 – Congo players celebrate the only goal of the match from Prince Oniangue in the 1-0 win over Gabon.

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Africa Cup of Nations 2015 – Guinea's players celebrate after scoring a goal against Ivory Coast during the African Cup of Nations group D tie on Tuesday. The match finished 1-1.

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Africa Cup of Nations 2015 – Ivory Coast supporters added more color off the pitch than their team did on it. A team that includes Manchester City's Yaya Toure produced a lackluster performance against Guinea.

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Africa Cup of Nations 2015 – There's a party atmosphere ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations Group C -- the so-called 'Group of Death' -- match between Algeria and South Africa in Mongomo.

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Africa Cup of Nations 2015 – Title favorite Algeria defeats South Africa 3-1 in its first Group C game. Striker Islam Slimani celebrates scoring the third goal. Algeria reached the knockout stages of the 2014 World Cup.

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Africa Cup of Nations 2015 – Senegal is good value for its opening Group C victory -- sealed three minutes into injury time by substitute Moussa Sow -- after dominating Avram Grant's Ghana for large parts of the game.

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Africa Cup of Nations 2015 – Concerns about the spread of Ebola means the Africa Cup players are tested when they land in Equatorial Guinea. Here Cameroon's defender Nicolas Nkoulou, who plays for Marseille, has his body temperature checked by a health worker at the airport.

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Africa Cup of Nations 2015 – Fans arriving for the the Group B match between Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo in Ebebiyin add some patriotic color to the lines of uniformed police.

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Africa Cup of Nations 2015 – Will you fall head over heels for Gabon's striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at the Africa Cup? The Borussia Dortmund striker celebrates scoring in Gabon's opening 2-0 win against Burkina Faso.

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Africa Cup of Nations 2015 – After Ebola fears and a relocation, the 30th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations soccer tournament kicks off in Equatorial Guinea.

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Africa Cup of Nations 2015 – There is a scramble at the gates of the Bata Stadium as fans are eager to see the opening match between hosts Equatorial Guinea and Congo.

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Africa Cup of Nations 2015 – Morocco pulled out as host nation because of fears about Ebola and the disease is still on the minds of the fans attending the Africa Cup.

Following 91 minutes of a game of football that had very little to show for it, Asamoah Gyan -- back for Ghana after a bout of malaria -- was on hand to keep his nation's dream of a first Africa Cup of Nations title in 33 years alive.

Despite a poor showing, but for a handful of minutes at this tournament, Avram Grant's men will take heart from beating the competition's highest-ranked team -- the last time it defeated Algeria in the Africa Cup of Nations, it went on to win the whole thing in 1982.

The result means Ghana is now level on points with Algeria but leapfrogs the North African nation into Group C's second qualifying spot due to its superior head-to-head record.

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The day's late game between South Africa and Senegal ended 1-1, leaving Group C very tight -- South Africa sit top, one point ahead of Ghana and Algeria, with bottom-placed South Africa a further two points adrift.

Ghana's chances of a victory against Algeria did not look quite so bright at halftime, however, following a cagey, scrappy 45 minutes bereft of any real quality, with the Black Stars desperate not to lose and the Desert Foxes happy with a draw.

Given that it was pretty much a must-not-lose affair for Ghana in Mongomo, Equatorial Guinea, jangling nerves were perhaps to be expected.

And they certainly had their wicked way in the first half, with a poor touch from Brimah Razak in Ghana's goal almost handing Yacine Brahimi the opener on a plate, only for the keeper to recover in time.

Algeria, equally, struggled to make an impact, lacking the enthusiasm going forward it showed in last summer's World Cup, though it did come closest to scoring in a drab first half through Nabil Bentaleb, who fired wide an Aissa Mandi delivery.

Ghana appeared a somewhat different team after the break, perhaps realizing that three points might be vital towards ensuring a first Africa Cup of Nations group-stage exit since 2006 is avoided.

Gyan first went close, heading an Harrison Afful cross agonizingly wide, while Andre Ayew and Jordan Ayew also had chances -- the older sibling heading over after his younger brother had earlier fired a flicked effort off target.

Inspired by its opponent, Algeria also picked up its performance going forward, resulting in a rather more open second 45 minutes.

One constant from the first half, however, remained -- a lack of quality in the final third.

That was until a shattered Gyan latched onto a long ball forward over the top deep into stoppage time and picked out the bottom corner.

"Asamoah is a great player with a fantastic attitude. He was ill but he played the 90 minutes and scored at the end," Grant told FIFA's official website following his first competitive win as Ghana coach.

"He is a great player but also a great personality. But it's not just the victory of one player. It's the victory of a whole team."

The second match at Estadio de Mongomo saw South Africa and Senegal play out a far more entertaining affair, with the second half coming alive after an uninspiring opening 45 minutes.

Although eventually succumbing to a 3-1 defeat against Algeria Monday, it was South Africa that started the brighter and took the lead on that occasion -- and it was similar for the Bafana Bafana this time around.

The 1996 champion was the more threatening team in the first half and came out of the blocks firing after the restart as Oupa Manyisa converted a cross from the right into the bottom corner of the net with an excellent first-time finish.

Senegal, insipid in attack up to that point, was soon awoken and thought it had found an equalizer through Sadio Mane shortly after, only for the goal to be disallowed due to offside.

Minutes later, though, and the Lions of Teranga had leveled, with Kara Mbodj rising highest to head home Pape Diop's free-kick past the stranded Jackson Mabokgwane.

With momentum on its side, it was Senegal who looked the more likely to score another, attempting to replicate Monday's comeback victory over Ghana.

This time, however, there was to be no last-minute winner for Alain Giresse's side, yet it still had the consolation of ending the evening sitting atop Group C.